TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their regular season Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, but it remains to be seen if offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford will be calling the plays.

Tedford is recovering from an unspecified medical procedure a week ago. Coach Lovie Smith said Monday that Tedford’s status remains up in the air.

"He’s getting better," Smith said. "He stopped through this weekend. We’re taking our time with him. He’s getting better each day. When he’ll be back here full-time, I don’t know. When he’ll be available full-time, whether he’ll be available for the game this week and all those questions, we don’t have answered right now. He’s getting better and we’ll see how all that plays out."

Smith would not say who will call the plays if Tedford is unavailable Sunday.

"In the meantime, the rest of our offensive staff will pick up for Jeff, similar to how we did it last week, with all of the guys really pitching in," Smith said.